The Birth of the Church of Mechanical Truth

[Target spotted: Kavin Deer]

[Level: Lv80]

[Occupation: Life Mechanic (Mechanical Engineering)]

[Health Points: 82109/82109]

[Strength: 31417/31417]

[Attributes: Strength: 80, Stamina: 80, Intelligence: 80, Agility: 80]

[Skill: Mechanical Energy Life Bestowal (S-rank) LV80: Grants consciousness (life) to the mechanical entity, and raises the mechanical life form by one rank. (Note: The maximum additional rank granted is the skill level cap.)]

Mechanical Detonation (S) LV80: Actively detonates any mechanical object, dealing explosion damage equal to 800% of the mechanical object's maximum damage. (Note: Detonation is determined based on Intelligence attribute, level, and overall combat power.)

Alchemical Mechanical Frenzy (S-rank) LV80: Continuously releases self-destructing alchemy mini-robots...

Mechanical Energy Control (Class S)...

Mechanical Life Affinity...

Heart of Wisdom (Passive, No Grade) LV80: Grants an additional 80 points to Intelligence.

Mechanical Mastery (Passive, No Grade) LV80: Increases the release rate of other mechanical skills by 400%.

Intelligence Core Strike (Passive, No Grade) LV80: Increases the damage of mechanical attacks by 80% by ignoring defense.

Mechanical Power Perception (Passive, No Grade)...]

[Overall Rating: S]

Looking at the luxurious panel scanned by the system, Lister felt incredibly envious.

The true geniuses in this world can improve their strength much more easily than someone like me who's got a cheat code.

He also needs to exploit players, rapidly increasing his own power by relying on the experience points they gain from leveling up their skills.

I'm currently stuck on the second job advancement quest.

And what about Kavin Deer in front of us?

In less than two years, he had only reached the Alchemy Ruined City, but his level had soared to level 80, and he had even completed his second job advancement automatically.

He went from being an "Alchemist" to a new "Life Mechanist".

The original A-level and B-level skills were automatically upgraded to S-level, and several new S-level skills were also learned.

Of course, that's not all. What made Lister even more envious were the two new passive abilities he gained.

It turns out that in the world of geniuses, passive skills don't need to be learned at all; they can continuously discover new passive skills on their own.

Without comparison, there is no harm; fortunately, he had Wang Yue by his side.

Compared to Kavin Deer, Wang Yue's talent is clearly inferior, even if he eventually becomes Overlord Tier force and a cosmic celebrity.

However, in Hoffman's previous comments, the two Overlord Tier were clearly Lister and Kavin, not Wang Yue.

Furthermore, Wang Yue's progress has slowed down considerably, both in terms of level and skill improvement.

Then he thought of Tim, the butler of the Merick Family, who only gained a little experience points after practicing the Merrick Saber Technique for several days.

Lister felt much better after that, and while watching Kavin assemble the Alchemical Mechanical Giant, he adjusted his mindset.

At least for now, he has caught up with the future World-Ending Level entities of this original world, and he still has a chance in the future!

The installation process was actually quite fast; there were still a bunch of parts underneath.

But just half an hour later, Kavin had only one piece of alloy metal left in his hand.

"Snap!"

A crisp mechanical click rang out, indicating that the Alchemical Mechanical Giant had been assembled perfectly.

However, it was not given consciousness, and the energy crystal on its forehead remained completely transparent and colorless.

A subconscious scan revealed that Lister's prediction was indeed correct.

"Congratulations, you have discovered an S-grade alchemical energy crystal with unlimited loop counts."

The Alchemical Mechanical Giant in front of him seemed to be the S-class BOSS he had faced in his previous life, not the one he had just killed on the periphery.

I originally thought that the giant was created by Hoffman, but it turns out that the real creator was Kavin Deer.

"Stay away."

Kavin turned to look at the two and spoke up to remind them; that familiar expressionless face was now increasingly devoid of emotion.

Lister responded by taking a few steps back, while Kavin, standing in front of him, extended his right palm towards the mechanical giant.

A massive energy surge erupted from his body, and endless Mechanical Energy poured out from his hands, continuously flowing into the S-class energy crystal on the mechanical giant's forehead.

About several tens of seconds later, a huge burst of Mechanical Energy erupted from the S-class crystal.

An invisible surge of Mechanical Energy impacted the entire hall.

Fortunately, Lister and his companion were far enough away that, although the energy fluctuations were astonishing, they weakened by the time they reached them, and were blocked by their alchemical equipment.

"Phase one charging complete."

A cold voice rang out from the mechanical giant's mouth.

Another massive surge of Mechanical Energy Kavin's body, shooting straight from his palm toward the giant's forehead.

After three consecutive Mechanical Energy impacts, the mechanical giant was finally fully charged and activated.

The enormous compound eyes first swept over Kavin in front of it, then over Lister and the other man beside it, but did not attack.

The energy crystal on his forehead flashed with green light, indicating that he had indeed developed a new consciousness, rather than being a contaminated unconscious.

Looking at the Alchemical Mechanical Giant before him, Kavin Diehl nodded silently and murmured.

"As expected, only conscious mechanical life forms can withstand this immense power."

"Hoffman, you've lost."

Having said that, he turned to look at Lister, who had already approached.

"I plan to place it outside the city. Do you think it can protect this alchemical mechanized city?"

Sure enough, this is the real boss from Act IV.

The only difference from Lister's memory was that he remembered the BOSS's energy crystals being red and should have been used for an unconscious area-of-effect attack on the players.

Could it be that things changed because of this butterfly?

Why must we protect the Alchemy Mechanic City?

"I don't want this great city of mechanical life to be destroyed."

Despite his severe facial paralysis, Kavin does not actually refuse to communicate.

Even in front of him, Kavin, who had just found some free time, took the initiative to talk about his insights from the Alchemy Ruined City.

"I never imagined that Hoffman had already created this autonomous city of mechanical life three thousand five hundred years ago."

"The Kingdom of Yating existed for only 526 years from its founding to its demise, while even the Empire of Aixisaiya only lasted 567 years."

"This city, autonomously controlled by mechanical lifeforms, has been operating for 3,084 years without any humans, and it remains normal and stable to this day."

Lister stood quietly to the side, listening to Kavin's description, and couldn't help but refute it.

"Could it be that these mechanical lifeforms haven't developed enough yet?"

"When their consciousness becomes more powerful, and they even possess desires, greed, violence, and so on like humans, their civilization will not last long either?"

Lister did not actually have a high opinion of Mechanical Civilization.

As long as individual consciousness is strong enough, Mechanical Civilization will inevitably encounter all the problems that human civilization faces.

Seeing this, Kavin Deer unusually fell silent, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Wang Yue, standing to the side, was still silently observing the mechanical giant in front of him, his eyes occasionally glancing at Kavin Deer, his body always in a state of combat readiness.

She could sense that Kavin Deer was far stronger than her.

The faint yet intense stinging sensation kept her on her guard for a moment.

After a long pause, Kavin Deer couldn't help but nod, his calm voice ringing out once more.

"Your guess is reasonable. How about we make a bet?"

It's hard to imagine that the word "bet" would come from Kavin's mouth, but Lister did not refuse.

"What bet? What are you betting on?"

"I'll bet on whether the development of what you call a mechanical life form civilization can last."

After Kavin finished speaking, although his face remained expressionless, his voice showed a slight fluctuation, as if it contained excitement and anticipation.

"I used to think that the only thing worth pursuing in this world was truth, and I didn't have any ideals like Lucian."

"Until I entered this great city, and as you just said, I had an ideal."

"I want to create a brand new Mechanical Civilization, where all mechanical individuals will eventually possess a high degree of self-awareness."

"Consciousness gives rise to faith, so I will also establish a new cult, so that all mechanical life forms will believe in the machinery and truth I seek."

Upon hearing this, a strange expression flashed across Lister's face.

Why is this statement starting to overlap more and more with the super cosmic cult he remembers?

Could it be that the other party is so early...?

Kavin continued speaking freely, seemingly oblivious to his own thoughts.

"I have decided to name this sect the Church of Mechanical Truth."

"Lister, what do you think?"